


Little Known Facts

by cvsossong



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Clint Barton Feels, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Fun Facts, Getting Together, M/M, Mostly humor, Multi, Oops lots of feels sorry not sorry, Some angst, Steve Rogers Feels, Tags to come as chapters are added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-26
Updated: 2015-12-16
Packaged: 2018-03-25 19:57:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 3,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3822871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cvsossong/pseuds/cvsossong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of little-known, fun facts about the Avengers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**1\. Steve caught on to the technology of the 21 st century fast.**

 

Like, scarily fast. Two days after he was unfrozen, he’d figured out how to work his StarkPhone and had already mastered texting. When the Avengers were called to assemble against Loki, he’d figured out how holograms worked and was quickly learning about the new satellite and guidance systems that the military used. And by the time Tony invited the team to live in Stark Tower, Steve was an expert in social media.

“Are you… are you Instagramming?” Tony accused. Steve shrugged, thumbs flying across the keyboard. “Did you just put a picture of me on Instagram?”

“It’s not as if your face hasn’t been on the Internet before,” Steve grinned.

“Do you even know how camera phones work? Weren’t cameras in your day like, thirty pounds?”

“Don’t exaggerate, Tony.”

“Seriously, how do you know how this works? Shouldn’t your nonagenarian brain be short-circuiting over instant pictures and tiny letters on a glowing screen?”

Natasha glanced up from her book and graced Steve with a smile when he lifted his phone up to take a picture of her. “Stop making fun of him,” she said to Tony sternly.

“How can you not?” Tony insisted. “It’s like watching someone’s grandpa try to work Google.”

Natasha’s phone buzzed, and she grinned at whatever was on it. “You may want to rethink that,” she said. Tony glanced over her shoulder and saw a picture on Steve’s Instagram of himself, waving his hands and talking animatedly, captioned with ‘#oldmanyellsatcloud’.

“Is that a fucking _Simpsons_ reference?”


	2. Chapter 2

**2\. Natasha drinks hot cocoa by the gallon.**

 

At first, Tony had assumed it was Steve leaving all the empty mugs coated with the remains of chocolate in the sink. Old people drank cocoa, right?

But then one night he stumbled out of the workshop and was greeted by the sight of Natasha curled on the couch with a pink mug in one hand and a bad romance book in the other, while a fire glowed in the fireplace.

“Um,” he managed. Natasha glanced up and nodded sagely.

“There’s more in the pot if you want some,” was her reply. Then she turned back to her book and resumed ignoring him.

“Thanks, but I gotta… be… somewhere else.” He hightailed it out of the room, ignoring Natasha’s snort behind him.

Two weeks later was Christmas, and Tony was ~~ordered~~ inclined to throw a party at the Tower for the SHIELD agents and the other Avengers. He was debating how much whiskey he could get away with pouring into his cup of coffee when Natasha appeared out of nowhere and slid a hot cup into his hands while simultaneously snatching the coffee cup from him.

“Special blend,” she said. Tony sniffed it and frowned when he caught a whiff of peppermint.

“I give up. How do you know how to make cocoa?” he asked her. Natasha just arched a brow and glided off to mingle with the other agents.

Tony was so baffled he forgot about the whiskey until the party was already over.

The next day, while the Avengers were exchanging gifts, Natasha passed him a neatly wrapped mason jar filled with brown powder. “I put in some extra peppermint flavor,” she informed him.

“Why is it that you think I need cocoa all the time now?” he asked.

Natasha smiled and curled under the blanket Bruce had gotten her. “Harder to mix alcohol in it,” she said. “It tastes too good to mess with the recipe.”


	3. Chapter 3

**3\. There’s only one person that can totally control the Hulk.**

 

And it’s not Bruce.

“I don’t understand,” Bruce said as they watched the footage. “I thought I had him under control more. I only meant for him to stack the boxes in a pile.”

They’d released the Hulk in a training facility so Bruce could practice changing at will, and it had turned into an hour long battle against the green giant until Hulk had finally worn himself out and changed back into Bruce.

“Eh, it happens,” Tony shrugged. He clapped Bruce’s shoulder and shut the footage off. “We’ll just keep working on it.”

“I guess,” Bruce said nervously. He didn’t sound overly convinced.

As it turned out, it was nearly impossible for Bruce to control the Hulk. They tried for months to work on Bruce’s control, but it always ended in destruction and a substantial payment for repairs on Tony’s part. At one point, Bruce accidentally stuck himself with a pen and ended up taking out the entire tech support floor of the Tower.

“I really am sorry,” he mumbled when he came to again. “I’ll look for an apartment in Queens, or maybe I’ll go back to Harlem, or—”

“Bruce, I have more money than I know what to do with,” Tony waved his concerns off and directed a workman to the correct floor. “You’re not going anywhere, okay?”

After that incident, Bruce was even more careful around the other Avengers. He skittered around the Tower nervously, avoiding anyone who wasn’t Tony or the interns that worked in the R&D department. The rest of the team didn’t see him for close to two months before it all came to a head.

It was a typical mission against the bad guy of the week, and Bruce wouldn’t have changed at all except that one of the minions had shot at his arm and he’d Hulked out. Afterwards, the other team members just sat back and let Hulk wear himself out, figuring he wouldn’t be long. All except for one of them.

Natasha crept forward and held out a gentle hand. “Time to let Bruce back out,” she called.

Tony shot forward, ready to scoop the Russian away at a moment’s notice before a giant foot could squash her, but Hulk just huffed and knelt down until they were nose to nose.

“Time to let Bruce back out,” Natasha repeated calmly. The others waited, tense with anticipation, while Hulk huffed again and sat back. There was a pause, and then he began to shrink and pale in color until Bruce was sitting cross-legged in the street, holding his torn pants up with one hand. He blinked at the team blearily.

“What happened?” he asked.

Tony flipped the armor’s faceplate up and blinked at Natasha in mixed fascination and horror. “I think Natasha just added ‘Hulk Tamer’ to her repertoire,” he said in wonder.

Natasha just smirked and picked a speck of dirt out of her nails.

After that, Bruce always made sure he was close to Natasha when they were in a situation when the Hulk could come out. And even if she wasn’t near, Hulk always knew to find her. No one ever really knew what she said to him, but it clearly seemed to work, so they just let it be and pretended not to notice when Bruce took to sitting next to Natasha on the loveseat every movie night, or when Natasha started making two cups of cocoa every morning for breakfast. They did notice when Bruce started to smile more, little by little, and slowly relaxed until he was casually laid back with other members of the team almost every night. And they definitely noticed when Natasha picked _Just Like Heaven_ for movie night after Tony had commented that the actor in it looked just like Bruce, even though it was widely known that Natasha despised romance movies.

They noticed, but they didn’t say anything. It was better for everyone this way, after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**4\. Clint can play the cello.**

 

He also, for a brief period of time, worked undercover in an orchestra in Portland. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Tony hacks into SHIELD's personnel files and reads Clint's mission history, he electively chooses not to mention that particular op. 


	5. Chapter 5

**5\. Tony can cook.**

 

And not just instant mac-and-cheese or freeze dried vegetables or those green smoothies that he _swears_ are actually good for you. No, Tony Stark can cook gourmet Italian cuisine that’s so good it leaves you breathless.

He just chooses not to.

It’s not just because he doesn’t have the time—though, frankly, he doesn’t. And its not like he doesn’t have people to cook for. There’s Rhodey, and Pepper, and now the team’s living in his Tower and they all convene in one kitchen for dinner most nights. Tony could easily pick up a wooden spoon and whip up a pasta sauce that would make a grown man cry.

But cooking reminds him of simpler times, when he had to stand on a footstool to reach the counter and there were warm arms wrapped around his waist to keep him from falling, and a soft British voice in his ear telling him recipes.

And then cooking reminds him of the time when he was nine and made a birthday cake for his father, which sat on the table uneaten for two days before Jarvis finally took pity and let Tony have a slice.

And then cooking reminds him of his mother chopping celery to stick in a Bloody Mary every Sunday morning.

And then Tony just kind of gets depressed and forgets that he ever even wanted to cook.

The first time Tony really ends up in a kitchen is seven months after the Avengers move in to the Tower. It was Bruce’s birthday, and Clint usually cooked for birthdays and special events but he had a mission somewhere deep in Soviet Russia. Tony wasn’t about to let Bruce go without a birthday dinner, which was how he found himself elbow-deep in a bowl full of curry while a pan sizzled with barbeque chicken next to him.

“What in the hell are you doing?”

Tony turned and grinned sheepishly at Natasha. “I’m, uh, cooking,” he said nervously. She arched a perfect brow—and Tony couldn’t help but wonder how they always looked so good, did she carry a tweezer around with her?—and sat on the counter next to him with her ever-present mug of cocoa.

“Since when do you cook?” she asked.

Tony shrugged and flipped the pan of chicken with an easy motion. “It’s been a while,” he admitted. “But I couldn’t let my Brucie-bear go hungry on his birthday.”

“Your relationship with him is very odd.”

“I could say the same for you.”

Natasha snorted, but didn’t say anything else about Tony cooking.


	6. Chapter 6

**6\. Thor’s favorite Midgardian food isn’t PopTarts.**

****

It’s baklava.

Thor first tried it after he saved Astoria in Queens from a giant, goo-soaked earthworm and an old _babushka_ had given it to him as a reward.

“It is not made fresh,” she’d explained in broken, accented English. “It is one, maybe two days old. But still, it is what we have to give.”

Thor had devoured the plate with a grin and promised to return for more. After that, he became a weekly visitor at her and her family’s bakery shop on 31st Street.

Thor also loves falafel, pryaniki, peking duck, _roti canai_ , rajma, and lasagna. He’s tried as much Midgardian food as he can get his hands on, from all the countries of his beloved mortal planet. This Earth is a place of many wonderful cultures and customs that the demi-god finds absolutely fascinating.

Not that he doesn’t love PopTarts, of course. But he also enjoys Zebra Cakes, hotdogs, movie cinema popcorn, and other classic American foods that Tony gives him to try.

His Midgard truly is a wonderful place filled with wonderful foods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guess who saw Age of Ultron tonight? That's right, this bitch. Feel free to hit up my ask box if you want to talk about it (Although fair warning, I won't respond to any blatant hate of the movie. I enjoyed it for the most part, and although I am willing to discuss its flaws I'm not going to bash the movie and won't respond to any bashing.)


	7. Chapter 7

**7\. Dating among the Avengers is complicated at best.**

 

  * Steve dates.



Really, he does! He went on a date with Kristen from accounting, and he had coffee with the girl with the nose ring—he can’t remember her name, but he knows she was much nicer than he’d thought she’d be—and he and Sharon dated for three whole months (before it just became too uncomfortable for him to date his ex-love’s niece).

He went on a date with a man, once. It was one of the IT guys at SHIELD, and Natasha had set it all up after he’d confided in her that while he did like dames, he preferred men. He’d had a good time, but then he had come back to the Tower and Tony had kept teasing him about his so-called “old fashioned values” concerning homosexuality and Steve had felt so uncomfortable that he’d never called the man back again.

He hadn’t realized that Tony would be… against that, enough that he would tease Steve about it, but Howard had been against it so Steve figured that maybe it had been passed down from father to son.

  * Tony and Pepper broke up after the business with the Mandarin.



She had Extremis, and she was still the CEO, and Tony became so focused on the Avengers that they’d naturally drifted apart until one day Tony realized they hadn’t seen each other in three months. After that, it was just smoothing out the details until they were back to being friends, the way they were before.

He dated Rumiko for a while, but she was so caught up in the socialite world that she couldn’t handle Tony being in the Avengers and being a full-time inventor. After that, he just sort of drifted from woman to woman.

It doesn’t take him long to notice that he’s going on less and less dates the longer that the Avengers live in the Tower. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.

  * Natasha only goes on dates for missions.



It’s a personal motto for her—only date people she plans to kill later. Less commitment, less worry.

Afterwards, she usually curls up in her pajamas on her couch with a historical movie and a mug of cocoa and relaxes for the rest of the night.

And if Bruce joins her more nights than not, and she starts making a second mug of cocoa just in case—well, no one ever said that Natasha’s life was uncomplicated.

  * The Avengers tend to make themselves scarce whenever Jane comes to visit Thor in the Tower. The sex is…thunderous, for lack of a better term.



Tony greatly enjoys the puns that come out of that.

  * Clint hasn’t dated since the Battle for Manhattan.



No one asks why.


	8. Chapter 8

**8\. Rhodey has been asked to join the Avengers on three separate occasions.**

Once jokingly by Tony while he was being refitted for the latest Iron Patriot suit.

“Come on, buttercup, it’ll be a blast. You and me, flying around, fighting giant squid and the occasional animated cartoon animal. Good times.”

Rhodey had grinned and shaken his head. “I have a real, actual job you know,” he’d replied. “A real job that pays real money. Last I heard, the Avengers team was more of a charity mission than a paying career.”

Tony had shrugged and clapped Rhodey’s shoulder. “You’re missing out, pudding pop.”

 

The second time had been more seriously from Steve Rogers.

Which, _Captain America_ had asked him to join the Avengers. Rhodey’s thirteen-year-old self was already giggling over that, but to top it off, Captain America had _saluted him._

“You really don’t have to do that,” he’d protested when Steve had snapped a sharp salute. His thirteen-year-old self was squealing by now.

“Sorry, Colonel,” Steve had replied with a sheepish grin. “It’s just habit, I guess.”

He _outranked_ Captain America. This was practically his thirteen-year-old self’s paradise.

“”As much as I appreciate the offer, Captain, I’m still enlisted in the Air Force,” Rhodey had said when Steve had gotten around to asking. “Maybe when I’m discharged I’ll consider it, but for now I just like being your emergency back-up.”

Steve had smiled and nodded sharply. “I do feel safer knowing you’re our back-up, rather than a newbie. Or the Fantastic Four.”

Rhodey’s thirteen-year-old self had practically died at that compliment.

 

The third time had been a four AM call from Director Fury.

“Please, God, Rhodes, give me a reason to fire that bastard Stark. Do me a favor—do the goddamn _country_ a favor and let me fire this asshole.”

Rhodey just hung up with a chuckle.


	9. Chapter 9

**9\. Sam introduces Steve to Call of Duty.**

 

It ends with a broken coffee table, feathers strewn across the living room from ripped pillows, half a beer overturned on the floor and another sitting precariously on a lampshade, and Steve victoriously singing World War II battle songs while Sam angrily throws red and blue M&Ms at him.

 

Neither of them are allowed to play Call of Duty anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever seen a military man play Call of Duty before? Because it is terrifying.


	10. Chapter 10

**10\. Pepper uses an iPhone.**

 

 

She never tells Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you ever wonder if Bill Gates' wife secretly uses a MacBook? Cause I do.
> 
> If you have a fun fact for any Avenger you'd like to see, leave it in the comments or in my ask box on Tumblr! I can't guarantee that I'll use it, but who knows? I love hearing from you all and may end up writing about your fact!


	11. Chapter 11

**11\. Wanda watches every track race on television.**

 

Pietro used to run track for their school, before the bombings. She went to every one of his meets and cheered him on from the stands. Afterwards, they never went back to school, but Pietro used to still race her down the street. Sometimes he would even let her win.

The rest of the team was worried that the Summer Olympics would make her too volatile, but she watched them anyways. They soothed her like nothing else, because she could close her eyes and pretend she was back on the stands, cheering for her brother.


	12. Chapter 12

**12\. In the very back of Clint's closet, in between a box of old hats and an 80s-themed leather jacket, there is a suit.**

 

It's an ordinary black suit, with a white shirt, dark blue socks, and a black tie. It is folded impeccably and rests on an old trunk, with a pair of polished shoes sitting at the base. There is a minuscule hole in the back of the collar, and a black smudge on the left wrist cuff. 

It is the suit Phil wore when they first kissed, many years ago. Clint never shows it to anyone, but sometimes he opens his closet doors and sits by it for hours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who read my other stories:  
> This semester has completely wiped me out. I have no creativity left in my body. Nix. 
> 
> Fortunately, I have three more weeks of school after Thanksgiving break, and then I'm off for a month for winter. Hopefully I'll find the energy to finish up my WIPs then, but until that happens I'm restricting myself to this fun fact story and a couple of one-shots I decide to write (I'm hoping to have one up sometime soon and I'll put this on that, too). I'm really sorry about all the mess and waiting, but I just have no energy. Thanks for understanding :)


	13. Chapter 13

**13\. Steve is really good at ballet.**

 

It doesn't really come out until the team has been together for about two years, and only then it's discovered when Tony happens to catch Steve practicing in the gym late one night.

"Natasha's been teaching me," Steve explains as he moves from a  _fouetté arabesque_ into a series of  _pirouette_ turns. "It's pretty useful in hand-to-hand battle."

Tony makes a strangled noise and backs out of the gym quickly. "Yeah, I bet, and you're doing great, just, you know, I gotta go—" and is gone before Steve even finishes his final  _plié._ Steve frowns at the closing door and moves into first position. 

The next day, Steve mentions it to Natasha as they practice sparring techniques. "I guess I just never thought that would make Tony uncomfortable," he confesses. Natasha grunts and dodges Steve's roundhouse.

"What would?" she asks.

"You know. Me being bisexual," Steve replies.

Natasha pauses and arches her brow. "Why would you think that?"

Steve shrugs and rubs his neck. "It's just, sometimes he seems okay, but it really bothered him that I was doing ballet yesterday."

"Doing ballet doesn't make you gay," Natasha retorts. "Remember what I taught you about the gender binary."

"I know that, it's just..." Steve sighs and sits down to unwrap his bandages. "I guess I thought he'd be more tolerant of a lot of things. Like when I went out with that IT guy, Tony just kept teasing me about it and mocking me. I thought since we were on the same team he'd have a little more tolerance."

"Haven't you read all the trash mags? Tony's bi at least, if not pansexual. He's been out since the 90s."

Steve pauses and looks up at her. "Really?"

Natasha laughs and sits down next to him on the bench. "You really didn't know?

"Then why was he so bothered by me doing ballet? It's not a bad thing, I even explained it helps with combat—"

"Steve," Natasha interrupts. She waits until he's looking up at her before continuing, "Were you wearing the gray tights?" Steve nods and Natasha flashes him a grin. "Then I'd say he wasn't bothered, so much as turned on."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in ballet for half a year when I was five and was kicked out of the class for refusing to wear tutus. Forgive me if my ballet terms are completely wrong.
> 
> Steve Rogers is a graceful motherfucker and I envy him like no other.
> 
> Side note, I've noticed a ton of people comment and mention that they cry over all the Clint chapters. Good. Cry with me. This is what I write for. (But I promise it gets cute eventually).
> 
> Side side note, if anyone has a "fun fact" they'd like to see, comment and tell me. I'm always open to ideas! (Though I won't guarantee that I'll use your fact.)


	14. Chapter 14

**14\. Clint is farsighted.**

The team doesn't figure it out until about a year after Manhattan. It's almost like Clint stopped hiding it—one day he just came into he communal area wearing a pair of glasses with thick plastic frames, plopped down onto the couch, and pulled out his StarkPad to play Angry Birds.

"Um, sorry, is this like a new fashion trend or something?" Tony asked.

Clint shrugged as he idly swiped over the screen. "My contacts fell out and I can't get replacements until next week," he replied.

"You—you're Hawkeye. And you need contacts?"

"Never did get enough carrots when I was a kid."

Later, Steve found Clint's glasses lying on the coffee table. As he picked them up to put them somewhere safe, he noticed a smudge on the inside of the temples.

"The Amazing Hawkeye" was written in purple Sharpie, worn and faded but still clear. The handwriting looked suspiciously like Coulson's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Submitted by AO3 guest Athena: "I was wondering if you could do one where Clint has really bad close up vision."
> 
> If you have an idea for a fact, comment on this fic and I'll see if I can fit it in!

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://halfway-punk-rock.tumblr.com/)


End file.
